Bathroom tap design

Whether you choose a modern or traditional styling to your new bathroom taps depends on a number of factors. Choosing the right taps to highlight the look you are creating in the bathroom is important, but so is choosing taps that will be a feature in themselves. To a large degree, whether you choose modern or traditional taps will depend on the look you have chosen for the rest of the bathroom, but you may decide to style the bathroom around the taps.

Modern and traditional tap designs

Although tap design may be designated modern or traditional, these are not hard lines at all, more guidelines. Some taps definitely fall into either camp, but there is a large range that could be happily ensconced in either style of bathroom.

There are several options for both traditional and modern taps, and the best way to choose which is right for you is simply to look at as many options as you can.

Modern bathroom taps

The thought of contemporary taps may bring visions of sleek, shiny minimalist chrome to mind, but there are a range of options:

• Minimalist chrome designs such as single hole mixer taps for the sink are popular contemporary style taps
• Steel finish or satin chrome modern taps such as the Palermo range are popular. The look is more industrial than sleek
• The combination of simple curves and straight clean lines is currently fashionable for modern look bathrooms
• For baths try a single hole mixer for a contemporary look

Traditional bathroom taps

'Traditional' is a tag that can be applied to taps from a huge range of eras, but simplify it by considering 'retro' looks like the '20's, '50's or '70's eras, or antique looking taps.

• The classic antique look is a cross head tap with ceramic 'hot' and 'cold' indicators. This commonly comes in a brass look, and is known as '1901' from the era in which it was conceived
• The lever style tap in ceramic finishes is another traditional style. This looks 'older' than the cross head style, but in fact both originated at around the turn of the twentieth century
• Clunky cross head taps from the 1920's Art Deco style are another traditional option, and may need to be matched to other period style features such as a ceramic sink or marble mount to achieve the desired effect. This style of tap could be considered retro rather than traditional

Choosing traditional taps does not mean that you are limited to one style; in fact there is a range of taps from a variety of time periods to choose from.

Modern or traditional taps?

Choose from modern, sleek shiny taps, a contemporary steel industrial look, traditional ceramic cross head taps or a clunky retro look for your bathroom. Really, the taps simply need to match the look you are trying to create, and be pleasing to use. Whether you choose fabulous taps and model your bathroom around them or taps that will seamlessly fit your bathroom design, taps can be a feature in themselves.